Luke 4 vs 3 & 4. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered. “It is written: Man does not live on bread alone.”
This is an amazing scene. As part of his victory over the devil, Christ has to face temptation as a human being. Notice that this first temptation is in regard to eating. This reminds us of Adam in the Garden of Eden, eating forbidden fruit. There Adam failed the test and fell to the temptation of the devil. But now a new “Adam”, Jesus has appeared and he too, is invited to eat. “If you are the Son of God tell this stone to become bread”.
As the Son of God in the divine sense Jesus had exactly that power to change stones to bread. Adam had no such power, nor do we, but Jesus did. But notice how Jesus replies to the tempter. “It is written ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”
The word that Jesus used here for “Man” is the Greek word “Anthropos” which means man in the sense of a human being. So while it is true that He is the Son of God, he is also human and a son of Adam. And Jesus determines to live on the terms that are right for a man, a son of Adam, a human being. He must succeed where Adam failed. He must. be sinless to be our Saviour. Thus Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 8 v 3: “Man shall not live on bread alone”. He refuses to exercise his God-hood for his own appetite. There was no self-centredness in Him so the battle is won.
The verse in Deuteronomy goes on to say: “but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”.
Humans are so constituted that food alone does not designate them as human. Even animals eat. But human beings, created in God’s image, need more than food. They need to hear from God. Their soul or spirit becomes hungry and can only be fed from His Word.
Perhaps you have an intense hunger for something deep within which you cannot define. You may be starving on the inside. Material things cannot meet our soul’s need. Not bread alone! Turn to Christ and feed on God’s Word.